Versta Research announced today results from a survey of business students, which found that most see market research as critical in their future careers, but few enjoy the difficult and demanding work of doing it themselves. The survey found that while three-quarters (75 percent) expect to rely on research as much or more than they expect to rely on intuition and common sense in their future business careers, just eight percent expect to be doing market research themselves.

The survey was conducted in April 2012 at the University of Illinois in Chicago, in conjunction with talks presented by Joe Hopper, president of Versta Research. Hopper was invited by faculty at the UIC School of Business Administration to speak with MBA and undergraduate students about business applications of market research, and about his own transition from academic research at the University of Chicago to applied research.

“With all the concern among researchers about do-it-yourself research tools degrading the quality of our work and putting research firms out of business, I thought it would be instructive to ask the next generation of marketing and PR professionals how they feel about market research,” said Joe Hopper, president of Versta Research. “All of these students take a market research course as part of their business degree, so all of them will have the basic skills to field their own research through do-it-yourself tools if needed.”

The full research findings are outlined in Versta Research’s June 2012 Newsletter, which is available for free on Versta Research’s website. Other findings from the survey, which are highlighted in the report, include:

• All students (100 percent) agree that research is important for today’s businesses.
• Three out of four (72 percent) see qualitative research as more interesting than quantitative research. But students are equally split on which of the two approaches is more valuable.
• When asked to think about their most recent survey experience as a respondent outside of class, just one in four (28 percent) found the survey interesting — a clear challenge for the market research industry to make its efforts more relevant.